V: The Final Battle
by PerfectlyPrecious
Summary: With the entire world Blissed and at the mercy of the Visitors, the Fifth Column teams up with Project Ares in a last ditch effort to take back the planet and stop Anna from destroying humanity forever.
1. Recovery

[A/N: Does anybody out there still read V fanfics? No? Just me? Haha, anyway, I'm pretty sure that no is going to read this, which means I'm posting it purely for my own enjoyment. And perhaps my twin's (are you out there?).

I wrote this nearly a year ago, when I first watched V. I was incredibly disappointed that there was no season 3 so I wrote my own. I just recently re-watched the series and found this among the mess that is my computer, and I decided, "why not?" So I'm posting this for fun and to improve my writing :)]

Disclaimer: I do not own V... if I did, the show would never have ended.

* * *

V: The Final Battle, Part 1: A Step in the Right Direction

Kyle Hobbes

Somewhere outside New York

There's something to be said about Bliss. It's a wonderful feeling. You feel as though nothing in the whole world can touch you. There's a sense of peace deep within you that blocks out every unpleasant thing that you've ever experienced. It almost feels as though you're floating. Floating away from the problems and worries of the world. You never want to leave.

That just makes reality even harsher.

Which is exactly how Kyle Hobbes felt at that moment. The feeling of intense euphoria that had been there a second ago vanished like the sun during a storm at sea. Everything he had ever done—all the mistakes he had made, all the horrifying guilt that he had managed to bottle away for years—came rushing back like a tidal wave and struck at his heart.

There are some things that Bliss cannot alleviate.

For a few minutes, Hobbes sat in the driver seat of a car that he had no recollection of ever acquiring. If fact, he had no idea where he was or what he was doing. All he was aware of was the horrid feeling that he was experiencing, heightened by the Bliss of a few moments ago.

His training came back to him and he immediately checked out his surroundings. He seemed to be on a deserted road; and more than that, his car had been driven into a tree off the shoulder. No doubt his own doing during his brief incapacitation.

Hobbes nearly groaned as the pain from the crash started to enter his body—he ached all over and he had surely hit his head on the steering wheel. It crept back much more slowly than the guilt, he noted. He attempted to unbuckle his seat belt; but when he found it was jammed, he let out a growl of frustration and violently ripped the whole thing off of the car wall. With another burst of force, he pushed the slightly crumpled door open and stepped out into the cool night air. He could still see the Mothership from his position, hovering in the sky like a snake poised to strike. Deadly and accurately.

He walked to the trunk and opened it. His few personal items (mostly guns) lay scattered in the back. He could remember stripping down his bunker like home and depositing most of his things in another equally safe location. But beyond that, he couldn't remember anything.

With an internal grunt of frustration, he pulled a duffel bag from the trunk and sifted through its contents, hoping for some clue as to what he was doing in the middle of nowhere. Especially when he could be with the other members of Fifth Column, taking down the lizard queen.

His eye caught something in the bag, and slowly, he pulled it out. The face of a woman stared back at him. Her eyes held sadness and disapproval, like she knew exactly what he had done.

And suddenly, so did he.

He remembered why he was on the road, running away from the Fifth Column and from Erica.

Erica.

Hobbes closed his eyes for a brief moment and drew a shaky breath—the first he could remember taking in a long while.

The guilt and sadness made much more sense now. And he seemed to care a whole lot more than he had before.

Hobbes clenched his jaw and slammed the trunk closed again. He threw himself back into the driver's seat and turned the key, silently daring the engine to stall. Miraculously it didn't, and he wedged the damaged door back into its place. With one more glance at the picture still in his hand, he reversed the car away from the tree and started back down the road. The car make noises of protest but Hobbes didn't hear it. He was fueled by rage.

The picture now lay in the passenger seat and Hobbes gave it one more almost tender look as he floored the gas pedal.

"I'm coming, Sarah," he said quietly.

* * *

Lisa

Secret Prison

She could feel it. The Bliss. For that was surely what it was. But it wasn't anything like she had ever experienced before. It was different. The voice was different. It didn't belong to her mother; it belonged to someone else.

Maybe that was why it was easier to fight off. Or maybe it was because she had just watched the man she loved be murdered by someone who looked exactly like her.

Love. It was such a strange word. No, not a word, an emotion. She knew that was what it truly was. An emotion that both made her weak and kept her strong. And in her heart—her soul—she knew that love was the real reason that she was able to fight off the strange new Bliss. It was also love that drove her off of her perch on the only seat in the prison and sent her on a mission to find a way to stop her mother.

Lisa walked the halls of her cage, looking for something—anything—to help her in her quest. Surely her grandmother wouldn't have spent fifteen years in this pit without doing something or preparing something. Surely there was something physical that she had left, a contingency plan of some sort.

It hit Lisa like a ton of bricks. _The Communicator_. She had given it to Dianna before all this took place. Was there a chance that she would have hidden it in her cell? Maybe she had an idea what would happen?

Lisa couldn't take the chance that the answer was no. With a renewed purpose and a sense of hope, she began scouring the prison chamber for the little white ball that could help her out of this mess.

"Don't worry Tyler," she said. "I'll do what I should have done to begin with. I will kill my mother, and I will avenge your death."

* * *

Chad Decker

On route to Anna's ship.

The moment that those guards had come to collect him, Chad had known that he was in big trouble. The moment that he found himself by a V transport with a feeling of complete euphoria and no idea how he got there, he knew that he was in bigger trouble.

He found himself staring up at the Mothership, visible above the New York skyscrapers, for no apparent reason. He shook himself and looked around. The four beefy guards surrounding him seemed to be experiencing the same disorientation that he was; and though Chad didn't know what they were there for, he had a feeling of deep unease as he looked at them. He had a sense that if he got on that ship, he wasn't getting off it alive.

He had two choices. One: to run and hide and hope that the guards didn't catch him and kill him. Or two: to do something he had never done before.

As he saw the guards began to regain their senses, he made a split second decision. He quickly grabbed the immolation gun off of the nearest guard and even more quickly shot him. The guard disintegrated into a pile of ash. Chad whipped around and fired three more shots. Each guard was blown away before they even had a chance to go for their guns. Chad was left standing, alone, amongst four piles of what used to be Vs.

He felt sick.

The gun dropped from his shaking hands and he bolted away from the shuttle. Down the streets he ran —as far away as he could— until he could run no more. And then he promptly threw up.

He hadn't felt this way before, not even when people died as a direct result of their actions. That had always seemed so far away from him. He had hardly felt involved with those deaths.

But these… these deaths had been caused by his hands. He had murdered four Vs on nothing more than gut feeling.

Chad spat out the foul tasting bile and wiped his mouth on his sleeve. He looked around but didn't recognize his surroundings. The only thing he knew was that he was in a park of some sort.

As his mind slowly came back to him, he took a few steps forward, thinking of ways to contact Erica and the rest of Fifth Column. He had just recalled how the V guards had come to collect him at WNT, right after the failed attempt on Anna's life, when a hand covered his mouth with a cloth and another pinned his arms to his sides. Chad tried to yell out but the fumes he inhaled from the cloth prevented him from doing so. The last thing he saw before losing consciousness was the outline of several black clad figures surrounding him.

* * *

Jack Landry

Middle of the street

When Jack finally started coming back to himself, the first thought on his mind was peace.

And the next was Anna.

_How could he have been so stupid?_ he thought bitterly. _How could he have ever thought that the Vs had come to earth for anything except benefit to mankind? Surely someone as good as Anna would never think to harm the humans. Surely she could only want the best for him. After all, she had given them so many wonderful gifts. And hadn't countless lives been saved by the Visitors?_

And then it was as if a bucket of ice water had been dumped over his head. Reality took hold of his senses. He shook himself and took a few stumbling steps forward—his head felt like a foggy mess. Had he really just been praising Anna?

Jack looked around and saw dozens of others all looking as confused as he, though most of them had expressions of pure euphoria on their faces. Many were smiling at nothing. Jack backed away, looking left and right at the mass of people. Finally he turned around and broke out into a run. He ran down the street, not even knowing where he was or where he was going. All he knew was that he needed to get away from the crowd.

As he was running, he recalled the voice he had heard just moments ago. He recalled the comfort he felt when the voice spoke, and the feeling that nothing bad could ever happen to him again.

His pace slowed, and the same empty smile that the others had sported appeared on his face. He looked around and the world seemed so much brighter and filled with love.

Jack caught sight of his old church and stopped dead. The sight of it brought back memories that he wanted nothing more than to forget. His brow furrowed. The sudden need to go inside overwhelmed the joyful feelings from moments before. He began to walk towards it, each step more difficult than the last. By the time he reached the door, he was trembling; and when he stepped inside, he could barely stay on his feet. The familiar sight of the wooden pews and the cross at the front just reminded him of all that had happened in the building.

Jack gasped at the sudden assault on his mind. For he saw every death that the Visitors had caused, but he also saw every death that the Fifth Column had caused.

It was too much for him, and he bolted from the church, once again running down the street. He only stopped when he was too exhausted to run any more. He bent over resting his hands on his knees and breathing heavily. When he looked up, the first thing he saw was a bar a little ways down the street.

It was like a sign from God.

Without hesitation, Jack made his way over to it. He entered and sat down in the first vacant seat he came upon. It was fairly empty, and most of the people inside seemed to still be in a daze. Whatever he had felt before seemed to have affected everyone, no matter where they were.

The bartender came over and Jack slapped a few bills on the table.

"Give me a bottle of the strongest stuff I can get with this," he ordered.

The bartender left and returned a moment later with a bottle in hand. He took the bills and replaced them with the bottle of Jack Daniel's.

Jack took it as another sign.

With a grimace, he picked it up and took a swig. The liquid burned all the way down his throat, but it was a welcome feeling that distracted from the turmoil in his head. Jack took another drink and his eyes watered. When half the bottle was gone, Jack exited the bar and staggered down the street. There was an annoying buzzing in his head and the ground kept shifting beneath his feet. He screwed up his eyes, trying to make it stop.

He didn't know how long he walked for, but by the time the whiskey had run out, he had ended up at a cheap hotel. He scrounged together enough for a room and somehow got himself into what was most likely a bug infested bed. But Jack was too drunk to care. He reveled in the numb feeling and the inability of his mind to haunt him further.

Somewhere in his head, he knew that the consequences of his actions would be great. But at the moment, he couldn't care less. Jack fell into a fitful sleep, dreaming of Vs and Fifth Column, and the entire earth consumed with fire from a war that they had started.

He wouldn't remember the dreams when he would wake up. But perhaps the future would have turned out differently if he had.

* * *

Erica Evans

Home

Erica roughly shoved her key into the lock of her front door. She had gotten home as fast as she could after what she had witnessed in the streets of New York. From Lisa's description of Bliss, that was the only thing Erica thought it could be. Anna had finally found a way to Bliss all the humans at once, and now all the people of the earth were under her control. The sight of it had sent her into a panic that was mostly concerned with Tyler. Erica didn't want to think about the consequences of the Bliss on him. He was in deep with the Vs and had been Blissed once already. There was very little chance that he would believe anything she said if he had felt the Bliss.

"Come on!" she yelled at the key that refused to unlock the door. She pulled it out and glared at it; but then she noticed that it was the key to her office at work.

She sighed and ran a hand through her frazzled hair. She turned the knob of the door and pushed it open.

She had forgotten that her kidnappers must not have had time to lock her door as they dragged her away.

Striding into the room with determination, she called out.

"Tyler!" She looked around the house. "Tyler? Are you here?"

There was no answer, and Erica went directly for her phone—lying uselessly on the counter—and dialed Tyler's number.

"Please pick up," she whispered and held it to her ear.

It went right to voicemail.

Erica growled and dialed it again with the same results. She threw the phone across the room and slid down the wall to the floor, clutching at her hair. She felt broken and without hope. Her son was missing. Joe was dead. Even Hobbes had left without a word. She was alone.

The ringing of a phone jolted her back to the present. She scrambled off the floor and retrieved her cell phone where it lay on the floor.

"Tyler?" she gasped into it.

"Erica," it was Kendrick. "We need you back here."

Erica repressed a scream of frustration. "Well, Paul," she said slowly, "I don't agree. The whole world just stopped and stared at the sky and my son is missing. I need to find him, and I don't have time to deal with this right now."

"Yeah, well, the whole world just started up again. This isn't up for discussion, Erica. We need you here," said Kendrick.

Erica didn't respond.

She heard Kendrick sigh and then much more softly, he said, "Look, Erica, I know you need to find your son. But you won't be able to do it alone. We can help you. Come back here, and I promise that we will do everything we can to help you find Tyler."

Erica bit her lip and took a shaky breath. "Alright," she conceded. "I'll be there soon."

She hung up before he could say anything else.

"What have we got?" Erica asked the moment she stepped into the main room of Project Aries. Kendrick and Bolling were both talking together with Lars but they stopped their conversation when she came closer to them.

"We picked up one of Anna's men," said Kendrick. "And I mean an actual _man_."

"Alright," said Erica, crossing her arms. "Who is he?"

The two men looked at each other, but Lars spoke first. "Why don't you come see for yourself."

The three of them led Erica out of the main room and down a dimly lit hall. They ended up at a door; Lars pulled out a badge and ran it through a scanner. There was a buzzing sound, and they entered a room with a one-way mirror that looked into a holding cell, much like the one she had woken up in. Through the window, Erica saw a man handcuffed to a chair.

"That's Chad Decker," said Erica in surprise. "What's he doing here?"

"He's one of Anna's most trusted humans here on earth. She's been using him to get her propaganda out to the country."

"He's not one of Anna's men," said Erica coolly. "He's one of mine. He's been working as a double agent." She didn't bother to register their astonished faces and strode to the door. "Let me in," she said turning back to them.

Lars nodded at a man sitting behind a bunch of computer monitors on the wall, and a light by the door turned green. Erica opened it and saw Chad's surprised face.

"Erica?" he asked. "What are you doing here?"

"I could ask the same thing about you," she said with a small smile. She looked down at the handcuffs. "They thought you were working for Anna."

"Yeah, well," said Chad as Lars, Kendrick, and Bolling came into the room, "I don't think _Anna_ thinks I'm working for her anymore. She sent a bunch of guys to deliver me to the ship."

"Why would she do that?" asked Kendrick.

Chad felt much more courageous now that Erica was there. He tilted his chin upwards. "Uncuff me and maybe I'll tell you," he said boldly, shaking the cuffs.

Lars looked at Erica. "You trust this man?"

"With my life," Erica replied unhesitatingly.

Chad was swiftly released. Rubbing his wrists, he told them all that had happened.

When he finished, the others were silent for a moment.

This didn't last long though. There were too many questions to be asked.

"I hope you don't mind me asking," said Bolling to Chad, "but how did Anna's puppet ever turn against her?"

Chad glared at him. "I found out the truth," he said simply. "When I was on the ship, one of Erica's contacts showed me what Anna was really doing."

The men all turned their attention to Erica. "You have contacts on the Mothership?" asked Kendrick.

"Yes," said Erica. "A high ranking official."

Bolling and Kendrick looked impressed; Lars remained expressionless.

"And how exactly did you come to find an ally on the ship?" asked Bolling.

Erica didn't answer.

There was silence for a few moments.

Finally, Lars said, "How do we contact your man?"

Erica gave a small laugh. "Not so fast. Before I tell you people anything, I want some answers. What exactly is Project Aires? And anything you say to me you can say to Chad."

Chad gave a firm nod.

Lars smirked slightly. "Alright Agent Evans, you'll get your answers."

He led her and Chad out of the holding cell and through another hall. When they stepped inside a room, Erica could see that they were in a conference room.

Lars sat down and folded his hands on top of the table.

Erica and Chad both sat as well.

"Tell me everything you know," said Erica.

Lars smiled a little. "There's not much to say I'm afraid. You already know all about the Vs. Project Aries was first initiated some fifteen years ago when the United States government first became aware of the presence of Vs on earth. Our first contact was a V who had turned against Anna."

"John May," said Erica quietly.

"Precisely," said Lars. "John May came to us and showed us proof that what he was telling us was the truth. The Vs looked and sounded like us, but they were not. They were infiltrating us for an unknown purpose, and we needed to learn what that was. Needless to say, the government was concerned. Several high ranking officials were selected from the different branches of government to head up Project Aries, myself included. Our job was mainly to learn all we could about the Vs and keep tabs on known Vs. See if they were doing anything suspicious or threatening in any way. And for many years, there wasn't a whole lot of activity."

He looked at her solemnly. "That all changed very recently."

Erica nodded. "Anna came."

"Even before that," explained Lars. "The Vs activity increased almost a year before Anna came to earth. We believed that they were preparing for something. And we were right.

"All activity of the Vs has spiked even more since Anna's coming. It's our belief that we are looking at a full scale invasion if we don't do something first."

Erica crossed her arms. "And what exactly have you people been doing since Anna came here?"

"We've been placing our people close to the Vs," said Kendrick. "Basically, they've been picking up information. We're hoping that we can get close enough to learn Anna's plans for humans and stop her before she gets too far."

Erica glared at them. "Well, I hate to break it to you, but Anna's plans are already pretty far along. She wants the humans for breeding; and she has already prepped every human on this planet for it. You remember the red rain?"

"A high concentrate of phosphorous," said Lars. "We know what it is. What we don't know is what its purpose is."

"For breeding," repeated Erica. "Vs need phosphorous to reproduce. They can't survive without it."

"How do you know this?" asked Bolling.

Erica looked at him. "Because I have been working with the Vs who are a part of Fifth Column. The only way to learn about the Vs is to ask them themselves, not watch them from a distance."

"Speaking of which," said Kendrick, "who are your contacts on the ship?"

"What," said Erica mockingly, "doesn't Project Aries have contacts on the one place that might actually be of worth?"

"Project Aries is extremely secret," said Lars. "We have been planning our moves and gathering information for years. If we moved too fast, then we would have been discovered."

"And we aren't as spread out as Fifth Column," said Bolling. "We're only based in the U.S. although we do have agents in the other cities with V ships over them."

"If it's so secret that you can't afford to expose yourselves," said Erica, "then isn't it hard to do anything useful?"

"We aren't out in the open like Fifth Column," replied Bolling. "But just look at how many people they've killed."

Erica clenched her jaw. "There are many different groups of Fifth Column. Most of them haven't killed anyone, and they certainly weren't all responsible for those bombings."

"That may be the case, but it's not like they've done much good at all."

"At least we've done _something_, unlike you people."

"Enough," said Lars before Kendrick and Bolling could retort. "We can still be effective," he said to Erica. "We have the means and resources that Fifth Column lacks. If Fifth Column is willing to work our way and stop killing innocent people, then I think it would be prudent to ally Fifth Column and Project Aries. If we are going to win this war, then we need all the help and support we can get, especially from ordinary people out in the open. Can you get us in contact with Fifth Column?"

"I should," said Erica dryly. "After all, I am the head of the global Fifth Column."

There was silence for a few moments as Erica's words were digested.

"How did you get to be head of Fifth Column?" asked Bolling.

"Eli Cohn left me in charge when he was killed," said Erica. "And after his death, I stopped all the suicide bombings. Fifth Column can do a lot of damage to Anna with the right resources, and if you want my men to listen to you, then you'll have to work _with_ me."

Lars looked at her for a moment before laughing.

"I like her," he said to Kendrick and Bolling. "Alright Evans, we'll work _with_ you." He leaned back in his chair. "Now about your people on the ship."

Erica smirked. "I have people all over the world—in Concordia sights and Peace Ambassador centers."

"We have our people there as well," said Lars.

Erica nodded. "But there are also Vs that are part of Fifth Column. Does project Aries have that?"

"Not as of right now," replied Lars. "Who are these fifth column Vs?"

"One is named Joshua. He's the chief medical officer and one of Anna's closest advisers."

The men nodded.

"The other," she said, "is Anna's daughter Lisa. Though I don't know what's happened to her after today's failed attempt on Anna's life."

"_You_ were going to kill Anna today?" Kendrick asked in shock.

"Anna's daughter is Fifth Column?" asked Bolling, surprised.

Erica nodded but ignored Kendrick's question. "She turned against her mother and helped me destroy thousands of Anna's soldier eggs."

"Wait, what?" asked Kendrick. "You destroyed soldier eggs?"

Erica sighed. "I guess if I'm going to be working with you people, I better tell you everything. My first group consisted of three people plus myself. Jack Landry, Ryan Nichols, and Kyle Hobbes."

"You were working with a known terrorist?" Bolling asked hotly and in disbelief.

"I didn't like it at first either. But," Erica shrugged, "Anna wanted him dead and I wanted to know why. He's been useful to us."

"Where is he now?" asked Kendrick.

Erica clenched her jaw. "He's gone," she said shortly.

The others didn't comment, though Erica knew that the topic would come up again at some point. For nearly an hour Erica explained everything that had happened since the arrival of the Vs.

"So let me get this straight," said Kendrick when she had finally finished, sans a few details. "You went from working with a priest, a V, and a wanted mercenary, to being the head of the global Fifth Column?"

"That about sums it up," said Erica.

Lars looked at her. "While this is all very nice, we still have the little matter of contacting your man on the ship."

Erica smiled. "First I need a few things from you. One, I need to find my son, and if you want me to continue to help you then you will do everything in your power to locate him. And I want your people to find Sidney. Make sure he's okay. Lastly, I want to talk to Eli's lieutenants. Now."

Lars pondered her a moment before nodding. "Fine. We'll find your son and your man. In the meantime, get a station set up," he ordered Bolling and Kendrick.

They all stood up. "This way," said Lars, beckoning them out of the room.

Chad, who had previously been silent, leaned into Erica as entered the hallway. "What happens now?"

"Now," said Erica quietly, "we find out if we can truly trust these people."

"But if you aren't sure we can trust them, then why did you tell them everything?"

"Because right now we need all the help we can get, and I'm not going to pass up this opportunity," said Erica grimly.

Chad glanced at the men in front of them. "What do you think their plan is?"

"I think they'll take over Fifth Column if they have the chance," she said. "But that is something that I will not allow to happen. We have done more with a dozen people than they have with a thousand. We've been the ones fighting, not them, and I'll be damned before I let them take everything away from me."

She strode ahead and Chad was left to ponder this new world he seemed to have been thrust into.

Back in the main command center, Erica saw that Bolling and Kendrick were waiting by a prepped computer monitor.

"It's all yours," said Kendrick.

The corner of Erica's mouth tilted upwards and she bent over the computer. After a few clicks, the five faces of Eli's lieutenants came up. They had been waiting to hear from her ever since the Bliss.

"What's your status?" asked Erica.

"All people over the earth seemed to have been affected by some device of Anna's."

Erica nodded "It's Bliss. I'm sure of it. It's a mind control device of Anna's. She's found a way to use it on humans."

"That seems to fit what we've seen," he said. "And although it took some time to get out of it, it appears that all of our men have been relatively unaffected. They still support Fifth Column."

"Good," said Erica with a sigh of relief. "So it's possible to fight it. I'm in a secret bunker right now, working with the United States government. They've been monitoring the Vs for fifteen years, ever since John May told them about the Vs."

"Do you trust them?" asked the lieutenant.

Erica glanced back at the faces behind her. "Take your orders directly from me, and don't do anything without my approval first," she told her men.

They nodded and the screen went blank.

Erica faced the others.

"Still don't trust us Agent Evans?" asked Lars with a smile.

Erica gave him a blank look. "You haven't exactly earned my trust, now have you?"

"No, no we haven't," admitted Lars. "But maybe we'll start now. We've already sent men out to locate your friend Sidney, we've put as many people as we can spare on finding your son, and we've allowed you to talk to your people, although you've conveniently made it so that we can't get rid of you anytime soon."

Erica smirked. "To communicate with the ship, we used an old V communicator. But I don't have it right now."

"Who does?" asked Bolling.

Erica looked at them. "Jack Landry."

"The priest," said Kendrick. "Any idea where he is?"

"No," said Erica. "So I suggest you start looking."

One way or another, she would get her team back together.

* * *

[A/N: (again) If you have read this I would love a review to know that you're a real person and not just my imagination creating friends for myself.]


	2. Learning the Truth

Kyle Hobbes

On the Road

The sun was just starting to come up, and the early morning light revealed a lone, slightly damaged car on a deserted road. Hobbes had been driving since shortly after he had talked to Lisa in the warehouse. He had known that Anna's death would free him from his promises to Fifth Column, and he would be able to leave and search for Sarah without worrying about people and lizards trying to hunt him down.

But the hours of driving since his crash had given him plenty of time to start doubting. He doubted that Anna was really dead. Whatever euphoria feeling he had felt a few hours ago had Anna written all over it. Although, it wasn't Anna's voice that he had heard in his head. It definitely wasn't Anna's voice. The whole thing was very confusing.

Hobbes didn't dwell on the subject longer though, as he saw the house in the distance, partially hidden by the thick trees surrounding it. Hobbes pulled up to the house that he and Sarah had once shared before the fateful day she went missing.

He had always hated that house, it was too exposed. There were too many places for enemies to hide and position to attack. He had gotten it for Sarah. She loved it more than any other place they had lived. But Hobbes was never one to stay in the same place for an extended period of time, so the house wasn't used as much as i might have been.

If the Vs had Sarah, then the only way he would find her is if he found a V that had been assigned to her. Malik had been a testament to the fact that the Vs had limited knowledge of what other Vs did. He needed to find a V and force them to tell him what they did with Sarah. Hobbes figured that he would need to start at the beginning—at the last place Sarah had been—if he was going to find any clues to her whereabouts.

Hobbes parked the car, approaching the door with caution and gun in hand. A second firearm was safely tucked into the back of his jeans. He pushed open the door and was greeted by the sad sight of his former home, once alive with life, now dead and silent.

It looked exactly like it had when he left, minus the thick layer of dust that had settled over every surface. Hobbes cleared the house. There were no Vs nor any sign that the Vs had ever been here. Hobbes doubted that they ever had. He set his gun on the table just inside the door and began his search for other clues.

If there was anything to be found, he would find it.

And he did. After three hours of endless searching, he had found a carefully written note taped to the back of a picture of the two of them. Hobbes deeply regretted not searching the house more carefully when Sarah had first disappeared. He had let his emotions control him then, much like he had that day he blew up the Fifth Column hideout.

Hobbes looked at the note for a few minutes without really seeing it. It had been so long since he had seen her handwriting. He had almost forgotten what it looked like. But the two words on the note required more attention. Hobbes glared at them before retrieving his gun and getting back in the car.

_Safe House_

* * *

Lisa

Prison

It had taken her hours to find it. But the communicator now lay in her hand, ready to use. Lisa reveled in her success for only a moment. Time was of the essence and she had to contact someone as soon as possible. She carefully activated the device and waited for someone to answer.

But no one did.

Lisa sat down in defeat. Maybe the Fifth Column had been destroyed by her mother. If they had, then it was all her fault. She hadn't done what she had been told. Now her grandmother was dead and the Fifth Column was unreachable.

A fire burned in her and she tried the device again. She wasn't going to rest until someone answered.

Or maybe until Joshua came and told her what to do.

* * *

Anna

Mother Ship

Anna rested on the luxurious white couch in her private room. After the taxing events of earlier that night, she needed some time to recuperate. If Amy hadn't arrived in the Bliss chamber when she had, then Anna most likely would not have been alive at that moment.

But she was alive, and her mind was already planning her next move.

She heard Marcus' footsteps approach her.

"My Queen," he said with a bow, "the humans have been successfully Blissed, and the construction of Concordia is on track. What are your orders?"

Anna sat up. "Now that the world has been Blissed, all that is left is Fifth Column. I want them eradicated for opposing me. Every last one of them."

"How do you plan to do that?" asked Marcus.

"Erica Evans," said Anna. "She has lost her entire family at the hands of the Fifth Column. I think it is likely that she will do all in her power to make sure that they never hurt anyone ever again. Through her we can destroy the Fifth Column."

"You really think that she will be able to do that?" he asked with some skepticism.

"Yes, with our help of course," said Anna. "We can give her the knowledge and means to carry out her revenge."

She stood up and faced Marcus. "Set up a meeting with her; I want to personally offer my condolences. Mother to mother."

Marcus nodded and left the room just as Thomas entered. "My queen," he said quickly. "I regret to tell you that Chad Decker has escaped."

Anna drew herself up to her full height. "How did this happen?"

"We suspect that it happened before the Bliss," said Thomas. "All of the guards with him are dead."

Anna turned away from him. "We must find him. Send out a tracker, and don't stop until he is found."

"Yes, my queen," said Thomas turning to leave.

"Also," said Anna, "tell Joshua to meet me in my daughter's prison. We have some business to discuss."

Thomas nodded and left swiftly.

Anna smiled. Her plan was flawless.

* * *

Joshua

Secret Prison

Joshua hurried down to Lisa's cell. He needed to get there before Anna if he was to have a chance to talk to Lisa alone. He found her standing in one of the alcoves, her back to him.

"Lisa," he called.

She turned and her eyes widened when she saw it was him.

"Joshua, what are you doing here?"

"Your mother asked me to meet her here. I believe that they are planning to do something with you."

Lisa walked forward and grasped his hands. He kept his face blank. "Joshua, Tyler's dead. You need to contact Erica. Help her."

"How?" he asked. "The communicator was-"

He stopped when she pulled the small device out of her pocket. "I found it. Dianna hid it in here. She must have realized all that could go wrong." She pressed it into his hand. "You must take it. You are still trusted. Contact Erica."

Joshua took it and looked at her. "I will get you out of here. I promise you that."

Lisa nodded, and Joshua backed away from her as the sounds of the lift were heard. Lisa arranged an angry look on her face, a feat she didn't find too hard.

Anna came in looking smug. "Well daughter, it's time for some answers."

Lisa glared. "You killed Tyler."

"No, Lisa," said Anna. "You killed Tyler. You killed him when you failed to obey me. If you had done what you were told, he would still be alive."

"That's a lie," said Lisa dangerously.

Anna looked at Lisa. "Tell me Lisa, when did you get involved with Fifth Column?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," said Lisa, lifting her chin defiantly.

Anna paused and then roughly seized Lisa's throat in her hand; Lisa gasped. "I know you were working with Fifth Column. The man who met with me, he was Fifth Column. They are the only ones who want me dead. How long have you been working with them?"

Lisa smirked, and then spoke hoarsely, "They keep getting to you. That must really hurt, knowing that they've stopped your plans so many times." She let her words hang for a moment. "But you don't think that they could have had all those victories without a little help do you? Do you really think that the Fifth Column could have blown up your eggs?"

Anna's mouth opened slightly. "What are you talking about?"

"I helped destroy your eggs, Mother. Me. Your precious daughter."

Anna thrust Lisa away from her. Turning to the guards she spoke furiously. "Take her to the memory chamber." She turned back to Lisa. "Soon we'll know just who it is that you were working with."

* * *

Anna strode over to Joshua, who was watching Lisa struggle to fight off the memory chamber. So far she hadn't given up anything.

"What's her status?"

"She is remarkably strong," said Joshua. "She has been able to fight off the chamber for several hours now."

"Keep trying," said Anna. "And while you are waiting, I need you to figure out how Amy was able to Bliss the humans."

Joshua looked at her. "It was the hybrid that Blissed the humans?"

"Yes," said Anna. "I need to know why. That is something that only a queen can do, yet she was able to do it also."

She turned to him and smiled. "You have done well Joshua, been very loyal."

As she walked away, Joshua recognized the subtle threat in her words.

* * *

Kyle Hobbes

Safe House

The safe house was another place in the middle of nowhere that Hobbes had reserved for dire emergencies only. It was the place he had told Sarah to go to if she had ever felt threatened in any way. It was also the first place he had looked when she went missing and the last place he had searched when he was told that she was dead.

It looked like an ordinary one-room wood cabin, but inside was a whole different story. The house was basically a bunker: weapons, ammunition, computers, everything he ever would need would be there. It was also a huge Faraday cage. It could survive anything, except perhaps a Mothership landing on it.

Hobbes drew his gun as soon as he stepped out of the car. Over years of training in the military, he had developed a sixth-sense like ability to find targets and eliminate them. And as he scanned the surrounding area, he felt as though someone was watching him. He saw no one though, and he couldn't tell where they might have been hiding. He hated dealing with lizards.

Hobbes approached the house and pushed open the door. A quick sweep of the room revealed no intruders and no Sarah either. Of course there was nothing there, but it was worth a shot. Hobbes put his gun away and glanced over the computer station and the weapons cache. Nothing was out of the ordinary. It was exactly as he had left it.

Except for one thing.

The single picture frame in the entire room was facing the wrong way.

Hobbes frowned at it and made his way over.

"Don't move," said a voice behind him.

Hobbes froze and lifted his hands up.

"Now get down on your knees."

Hobbes didn't comply. He could tell right away that this was the person he had sensed outside. "Look, whoever you are, you are trespassing."

There was no answer so Hobbes slowly turned around. Standing in front of him what was obviously a V, judging by his uniform and the creepy looking knife he was holding.

"What are you doing here?" growled Hobbes.

The V looked a little frightened, though Hobbes didn't know why. He may have been several inches shorter than Hobbes and much less well armed, but he was a V. Hobbes wondered if he could draw his gun faster than the lizard could fling his knife.

He decided it wasn't worth the risk.

The V swallowed. "Anna stationed me here to report anyone that ever came by." He glanced around nervously. "But I turned against Anna. I don't follow her anymore."

Hobbes glared suspiciously. "Then what are you still doing here?"

"My assignment," it said. "I knew of a woman that had been taken away from here. I thought that maybe I could help anyone who came to look for her."

Hobbes felt his heartbeat increase. The lizard knew about Sarah.

He suddenly glared. "I've been here before. Why didn't you say anything then?"

The V looked at the floor. "I was still loyal to Anna then. I reported that you had been looking around, but I was ordered not to do anything to you."

Hobbes growled. "Yeah, and then you just stayed here for another five years, and in the meantime, decided to break away from the lizard Queen." The V winced and Hobbes continued. "But the woman that was here, where is she? Tell me everything you know."

The V nodded. "I don't know what happened to her after she was taken away, but I know the address of the place she was taken. I can give it to you."

With one more nervous look at Hobbes, the V went to the desk and scribbled something out on a piece of paper. Hobbes watched him as a feeling of dread began to settle in his gut.

The V handed him the piece of paper without looking at him. Hobbes looked at the address and then back at the V. "Why did you stop following Anna?"

The V shifted on his feet. "I was originally one of the ones guarding the woman. She was… kind to me. No one else had ever treated me like she had."

Hobbes stared at the V. More than anything, he wanted to shoot it dead. But something stopped him.

He glared at it. "Consider yourself lucky," he said.

Without another word he strode back outside and to his car.

He had been spending too much time with Erica.

* * *

Erica Evans

Project Aries

Erica walked up to the station that Lars, Kendrick, and Bolling were currently conversing at. She clutched her cell phone in her hand and she faced them all with a grim look.

"Erica, good news," said Kendrick. "We've located Sidney and he's on his way here."

"Good," said Erica. She looked at Lars. "Marcus just called. Anna wants to see me."

Lars looked at her thoughtfully. "Did he say why she wanted to see you?"

Erica shook her head. "No, but he said it was urgent."

Kendrick and Bolling exchanged looks and Lars rubbed his chin. "Well whatever it is, it must be important. You should leave immediately."

"I'm leaving now," said Erica simply.

* * *

Kyle Hobbes

Unknown address

The address he was led to didn't look anything like a place that the Vs would congregate in. But Hobbes supposed that was the point.

The warehouse was almost empty when he first entered it. The only sign that it had ever been in use was the single computer station at one end of the warehouse. Hobbes didn't even bother looking around. He made a beeline for the computer. The feeling in his gut had grown stronger, and deep down he had a feeling that everything was going to go wrong. But the thought of finally finding Sarah overpowered any other emotion he felt.

There were no Vs around for Hobbes to question, so his only chance was any information the computer could give him. Otherwise, he was back to square one. Or perhaps he could find that V from the safe house and give it a piece of his mind.

He fired up the computer and scanned over some files laying on the desk while he waited. Nothing was of any importance.

The computer beeped and Hobbes rapidly began searching it. He was a master of computers, and soon enough he had found something of interest.

Only it wasn't anything like what he was looking for. It was a video. And watching it made Hobbes sick.

_Sarah was strapped to a chair, tears rolling down her cheeks. A group of Vs surrounded her._

_"Just read these lines," they said, "and we'll let you go home."_

_Despite being obviously terrified, Sarah glared up at them. "You'll kill me no matter what."_

_The V shrugged. "True. But the rest of your life will be infinitely more unpleasant if you don't do as we say."_

_Sarah eyed the knives that the Vs were holding. "What are you going to do with those? she asked, frightened. _

_The V smiled at her. "We'll cut you up into little pieces and feed you to the dogs," he said._

_Sarah started crying again. "Okay," she conceded. "Okay, I'll do it. Just please don't hurt me."_

_She did everything they wanted her to, and when she was finished, the Vs laughed and approached her with the knives._

_"Wait, please," begged Sarah. "Please, I'm pregnant. Please don't hurt me."_

_But the men didn't stop, and their knives glinted in the dim light._

_Sarah screamed._

Hobbes staggered away from the monitor, horrified and sick, unable to comprehend what he had just seen.

He heard a noise behind him, and he whipped around with gun in hand.

Through eyes that were filled with tears, he saw a group of Vs surrounding him.

Hobbes knew then that the entire thing had been a trap. He had just been too blind to see it.

"You will pay for what you've done," he said with a clenched jaw.

But he had already let his emotions affect his judgment. And now his fighting skills were hampered as well.

It was no surprise to him that he was down before he knew what had happened. The last thing he saw was the V from the safe house staring down at him coldly.

* * *

Erica Evans

Mother ship

Erica stepped off the shuttle with a feeling of dread. During the flight she had had time to think of all the reasons why Anna would want to meet with her. She wondered if something had happened to Lisa. After what had happened, she wouldn't be surprised.

She looked around for someone—especially Tyler. But he wasn't there. The only person she saw was Marcus, coming toward her.

"Agent Evans," he said. "It's good to see you again."

"Likewise," lied Erica.

"Come," he said, gesturing down the hall. "Anna is waiting for you."

Erica followed him to Anna's private room. Marcus left her before she went in so Erica had time to steel herself for what was to come.

She entered the room and saw Anna, facing away from her. Anna turned to look at her, and Erica saw that her eyes were rimmed red. Erica felt her dread increase.

"Anna? What's wrong?" she asked.

"Oh, Agent Evans," said Anna in fake sorrow. "I am so sorry." She approached Erica and reached for her hands. "I have horrible news."

"What is it?" asked Erica worriedly.

Anna shed a tear. _Crocodile tear_, thought Erica. "It's Tyler." Erica felt her stomach plummet. "He's dead."

For a moment, Erica was incapable of speech. "What?" she choked out. "No, no, that's not possible."

Anna led her over to a chair. "Erica I'm so sorry. I felt as though Tyler was a son to me and it has nearly broken my heart to learn of this. But I can't begin to understand the pain you must be feeling."

Tears started flowing freely down Erica's cheeks. "How could this have happened?" she sobbed.

"Fifth Column," said Anna without hesitation. "They attacked the shuttle Tyler was flying. They attacked without mercy."

Erica gasped quickly covered her mouth as an anguished scream threatened to escape. For a few minutes, all she could do was cry while Anna put a hand on her shoulder. Erica wanted nothing more than to cut it off.

Finally, she managed to get herself under control. "May I see his body?"

"Of course," said Anna gently. She helped Erica up and guided her towards the door. Before they got there, it opened and Lisa came through.

"Mrs. Evans," said Lisa and Erica saw the same red rimmed eyes that Anna had been sporting. "I am so sorry," she said and reached forward to hug her. "I loved Tyler. I can't believe this is really happening."

Somewhere through Erica's fog of mind, she still managed to notice that the hug wasn't genuine. It felt wrong—not like the hugs she had given Lisa before.

She pulled Lisa back and looked into her eyes. There was no sorrow, no warmth, no light. The girl in front of her didn't care one iota that Tyler was dead.

Erica said nothing; she just let the tears flow.

Anna led her away from Lisa and down the hall to a room. In the middle of the room, on a table, was something covered by a sheet. Erica didn't want to think about what lay under that sheet.

Standing by the door was Joshua, but Erica couldn't bear to look at him. She slowly approached the body.

Anna whispered to Joshua, "Keep an eye on her. Make sure she doesn't see anything she isn't supposed to." Joshua bowed his head.

In a louder voice she said, "I'll leave you alone for a moment."

She strode out the door.

Erica was already at the table, and with a shaking hand, she lifted the sheet covering the head. She saw her son, his face marred and ruined, but still undeniably her son.

Erica covered her mouth to stifle her sobs, but eventually she lay over the body and cried her heart out. There was no measure to her grief. She had lost the last person she loved, and it was all because of the Visitors.

Joshua gave her a few minutes to grieve, but he knew they had a very limited time to talk. He approached her cautiously as soon as her sobs quieted.

"Erica?" he asked gently. He reached out and touched her shoulder.

Erica straightened up and wiped her eyes. Joshua saw that they had a blaze in them.

"Whoever did this will pay, Joshua. I will destroy them."

He nodded. "That's what I need to tell you. Anna has hatched another queen egg. The girl you talked to was not Lisa, and it was this second daughter of Anna's that killed Tyler, but not before she had mated with him."

Erica didn't react to the information beyond taking a shaking breath. "I knew that she wasn't Lisa." She looked at Joshua. "Where is the real Lisa? She isn't-"

"No," said Joshua quickly. "She is being kept in Dianna's former prison." Briefly he explained to her all that had happened and all that he had gathered.

"So Dianna is dead. Ryan is dead. Lisa is locked up. My son… is dead. And the entire world has been Blissed by Ryan's daughter." She ran a hand through her hair. "What are we going to do, Joshua? What can we do?"

"We must stop Anna," said Joshua. "Lisa is still our best hope of overthrowing Anna. I will figure out a way to get Lisa off the ship and you must figure out a way to destroy the other Lisa."

Erica wondered if Joshua was giving her a way to avenge Tyler's death. She began pacing a little. "Isn't there any way I can get Lisa off the ship now?"

"No," he said. "Anna still has her in the memory chamber. She has fought it off so far, but I don't know how long she can withstand it." He reached into his pocket and pulled out the communicator. "I have tried to contact you using this, but there has been no response."

Erica nodded. "Jack had the other one, but he went missing after the Bliss."

"When you find him, contact me and I will let you know of anything else that has happened."

Erica smiled sadly at him. "Thank you… for everything."

She turned away, unable to stay any longer.

The moment she was out of the room however, she found Anna waiting.

"Erica, how are you?"

"My son is dead," said Erica bitterly. "And the people responsible for killing him are running free. I'm not doing very well."

Anna nodded. "I know how you feel. Having someone who hurt you out there and not paying for what they've done." She paused. "I need to tell you something. I feel as though I am responsible for Tyler's death. After all, his relationship with my daughter put him at risk."

"No," said Erica firmly. "I am ultimately responsible for what happened to my son." She swallowed. "I'm the head of the Fifth Column task force. You are not the only one responsible."

And it was true. Because in that room, with the body, she had realized that the Vs could not be held solely responsible. If she had told Tyler the truth to begin with, then he would never have been in danger. She had failed him as a mother.

Anna lowered her eyes. "There is something else."

"What is it?" asked Erica.

Anna waved her hand and one of the V monitors showed up. On it a video played. Erica watched it in disbelief.

"As you can see," said Anna, "that man was clearly the one responsible for killing your husband."

Erica watched a video of Hobbes, standing at the back of a crowd, with a small device in his hand. He presses a button, and moments later a building explodes. Everyone starts shooting, and her husband is caught in the crossfire.

"I know that this must be hard for you to watch, Erica, and I wouldn't have shown it to you so soon… but this man is Fifth Column and has attacked us before. We are only trying to help you."

Erica covered her mouth with her hand. Watching Joe's death after seeing her son's body was almost too much. Clearly that was what Anna wanted.

"If he was Fifth Column," she said slowly, "then why would he blow up his own compound?"

"He knew that there was no way out for the men inside," replied Anna. "He didn't want them to be caught by authorities."

Erica didn't know how to respond to this new revelation of Anna's. She knew that Eli didn't blow up his own compound, but she had assumed the Vs did it. And beyond that, how could she trust anything Anna showed her. She needed to dig more.

"They will pay for this Anna," said Erica in a choked voice. "Those that did this to my family will suffer the same fate."

Anna laid a hand on her arm. "I know they will," she assured.

Erica nodded at her, and quickly left to get on the next shuttle down to earth. She couldn't spend one more minute on the ship.

Anna watched Erica go with satisfaction. Her plan was working out perfectly.

"My queen," said Marcus coming to stand beside her. "I have just received word that Kyle Hobbes has been captured. He is being brought here as we speak."

Anna smiled to herself. "Even better," she said.

* * *

Kyle Hobbes

Mother Ship

Hobbes woke up strapped to a metal table. Bright lights glared overhead. He struggled to get out of the restraints, but before he had much chance, he saw Anna leaning over him. Marcus, Thomas, and Joshua stood behind her.

"I'm glad to see that you're awake," said Anna smiling.

"Yeah, sure you are," said Hobbes. "I guess that's why you knocked me out and brought me up on your ship, eh?"

Anna continued to smile at him. "Mr. Hobbes, you should know that you are very important to our cause. We've been working with you for many years, and you have helped us in many essential things. I see no reason to discontinue our relationship so soon."

Hobbes smiled wryly. "Yeah, I've really been working with you lizards, haven't I? I guess that's why I shot your top man." He nodded towards Marcus. "But I see I didn't do my job as well as I should have."

He watched in satisfaction as Anna's jaw clenched. He tilted his head up towards her. "I will make you pay for what you have done to those I love."

Anna's smile returned. "Really?" And then she leaned in closer. "Good luck with that."

She turned away and walked out of the room. She looked at Joshua. "Take Lisa out of the memory chamber and put him in instead. I want to find out who he was working for."

"Yes, my queen," said Joshua.

"What are planning on doing with Lisa?" asked Marcus.

Anna smiled. "We now know that Mr. Hobbes is Fifth Column and we know that my daughter is Fifth Column. It is very likely that the two of them worked together at some point—perhaps they both even plotted my assassination. I am going to use my daughter's weakness of emotion to make her tell me who the leader of the Fifth Column is. Then we can give that information to Agent Evans and watch her destroy the Fifth Column."

"How will you get them to tell you the identity of the Fifth Column leader?" asked Thomas.

Anna smirked. "I am going to break Mr. Hobbes. Both emotionally and physically. If he doesn't tell us what we want to know, then my daughter will."


	3. A New Idea

**[A/N: I am a horrible person... I am so so sorry I made you guys wait this long for another chapter. I hope you're still interested in the story because there is no way I'm giving up on it, no matter how long it takes me to finish it. **  
**If there is anything that doesn't make sense or that I screwed up, drop me a PM and let me know. Cause, you know... it's been a while and I'm bound to have missed some mistakes.**

**Special thanks to the awesome people who left me a review! You guys really made me feel special!**

**And now without further ado, Chapter 3.]**

* * *

Jack Landry

Motel

Jack woke up to an excruciating headache. His stomach was churning violently and he had to bolt to the bathroom, barely making it in time. He bent over the toilet and heaved the contents of his stomach out, transitioning to dry heaves when there was nothing left. After what seemed like forever, he sat with his head resting against the seat, taking deep breaths.

Once his breathing was steady and the dizziness in his head started to abate, he was able to gingerly get to his feet and rinse his mouth out in the sink. That was when he noticed his surroundings.

The bathroom looked like it hadn't been cleaned for ten years _at least_. The walls were covered in mold, and both the tub and sink were cracked and stained. The toilet was an awful brown color that made Jack want to puke all over again.

When he retreated into the bedroom, the sight wasn't much better. The walls were all yellowed and peeling, the ceiling looked like it was about ready to fall in, and the carpet had stains on it that looked suspiciously like blood. Jack could almost see bugs crawling on the bed.

He stood rooted to the spot in horror for a good minute. He had no idea how he had ended up in such a place, and especially with an empty liquor bottle on the nightstand. He wracked his brain for any clue, but the only thing that popped up in his mind was a name.

Anna.

This name somehow inspired both good and bad feelings in Jack, but he couldn't make much sense of either. All he knew was that his head hurt more than it ever had in his life, and just the simple act of thinking was making it worse.

His pain level was not helped when the motel room door was suddenly kicked in and bright lights were flashed in his eyes.

"FREEZE!" came several voices.

Jack's pain reached a crescendo and he clutched at his head. His ears started ringing and his vision blurred, causing him to fall to his knees. The last thing he saw, before mercifully passing out, was several figures, clad in head-to-toe black, approaching him with guns pointed in his face.

* * *

Erica Evans

Home

Erica stood outside her son's room, staring at the door. She had been frozen in that position for the past ten minutes, ever since arriving home. She couldn't force herself to turn away, but she couldn't make herself go inside either. To her, facing Tyler's empty room would cement his death more than the words of Anna ever could. She had seen his body, and now she would see his room. But he would never again be in it.

Erica felt her eyes well up just as her phone rang. She pulled it out and took a deep breath, refusing to let the tears fall just yet. "Evans."

"Erica, we found Jack Landry," she heard Kendrick say.

"Good," said Erica in a choked voice. "Find out where the communicator is. I'll come in whenever I get a chance."

"But-"

She hung up before he could say anything else.

Erica covered her face with her hands and breathed deeply. She still had to work. She still had a job to do. And that job was even more important now.

But she needed to do this one thing before she could even think of going back.

So with determination, she opened the door. Tyler's room looked exactly like it had before he left for the Live-Aboard Program. There was a few items missing—probably still on the ship—but in essence it was the same. The bed was unmade, various possessions were scattered around the room, and the pictures on the walls still looked like they had when he was alive.

Erica looked around and felt a sorrow deeper than anything she had ever felt before. Seeing his room like this—as though he had never left and would still be coming back—was too much for her. She collapsed on the bed and once more broke down in uncontrollable sobs.

* * *

Chad Decker

Project Ares

Chad Decker sat at the desk that he had been assigned to. He had been given a low level, basically "desk job", because Erica trusted him.

That was what they had told him, anyway, but Chad knew that it was simply a way for them to keep an eye on him and to make sure that he was out of their way. He sorted paperwork and entered the information into his computer; and every hour someone would pile more files on his desk, ensuring that he was glued to his seat.

It was dull work that made Chad miss his old job. Heck, he missed his old life, before Anna and the Visitors decided to use him. That was the real reason that none of these people trusted him. He had worked with Anna—for Anna—and now he was simply one of "_her people_".

Chad swiveled in his chair to look around at the many work stations around him. Dozens of people sat at the desks doing various, much more interesting jobs than his. They were the "Diggers", the ones who sought out the truth and the facts needed to expose it. Chad viewed it as a larger degree scale of what his reporting job once was. He also thought that they were doing a pretty poor job of it so far, considering they had done absolutely nothing in the war against the Vs.

Chad noticed a familiar blonde head coming towards him. He noticed her red eyes and disheveled appearance and briefly wondered what was wrong. But when she spoke it was in her normal voice.

"Chad, any news?"

"Yeah," he said, slightly nonplussed. "Yeah, Jack was brought in a little while ago. He was totally out of it." He blew out a breath. "He seems to still be suffering the effects of the Bliss. Sometimes he's on Anna's side, and other times he's Fifth Column. He didn't remember much either, just that he was a priest, but maybe he's remembered more now. I talked to Sidney and he said…" he paused. "Well, maybe he should tell you himself."

Chad got up on beckoned her to follow him. He was pleased that he knew where he was going. The place was like a huge maze.

He took her down to a lower level and into one of the medical areas that had been temporarily set up as Sidney's lab. Sidney was sitting at a desk, bent over a microscope, but he looked up when he heard them enter.

"Erica!" he cried happily, jumping up from his seat. "Boy, am I glad to see you. This place is creepy."

Erica smiled slightly and pulled him into a quick hug. "It's good to know that you're safe, Sid."

She looked over his shoulder and into the window of the adjoining room. "Is that Jack?" she asked. "What's he doing in there?"

"Oh," said Sid, with a glance behind him. "That guy, Lars, told me to keep him in the observation room so that I could figure out why he hasn't snapped back into himself."

"I see," said Erica. "And do you know why he hasn't?"

Sid shook his head. "Not a clue. But I have observed some things." He walked over to his computer. "I think the biggest thing is that this…" he gestured to the sky, "Bliss, seems to have affected both humans and Vs. Chad told me that the guards that were taking him to the Mothership all felt it too." Chad gave a nod. "And beyond that, it seems that everyone that we know of, who knew the truth before, well they seem to be relatively unaffected. However," he said with a grimace, "everybody who didn't know the truth seem to have become completely devoted to Anna. From what I've seen," he added.

Erica sighed. "Well that's one more problem to add to our list. So why hasn't Jack remembered yet?"

"I don't know," said Sid, though the question had been rhetorical.

Erica just nodded resignedly. She walked over to the window and looked in. "I want to talk to him. Maybe I can get through to him."

Sid shrugged. "Fine with me. Just be careful. If he goes into his praise Anna mode, he'll probably try to attack you."

Erica smiled. "I think I can handle myself."

She entered the room and her eyes met Jack's. The door shut with a snap and was the only noise that broke the silence.

"So I hear that you're having a hard time remembering," she said.

Jack shook his head. "I don't know. I don't know what I don't know since I can't remember anything."

Erica smiled. "You remember me."

"Yes," said Jack. "I remember working with you. Against Anna."

Erica said nothing. Jack sighed. "I'm confused. I keep feeling like I had a mission, a sense of purpose. And now I feel like that mission was wrong."

"It wasn't," said Erica, but her words lacked conviction.

"Can you honestly say that?" asked Jack leaning forward. "Can you honestly say that what we did was the right thing?"

Erica didn't reply right away. Her mind was in turmoil. She knew that she had made some bad choices in the past, and those choices had cost people their lives. They had cost _her family_ their lives.

She looked at him. "I may not be able to say that we made all the right choices," she said. "But I can say for certain that everything Anna has done has been evil. She has killed people, destroyed families." She closed her eyes. "Destroyed my family. My son is dead because of Anna. She killed him. Can you say that _that_ is right?"

"Tyler is dead?" Jack asked disbelievingly. Erica raised her eyebrows, surprised that he remembered her son. "Anna did that?"

"Yes," said Erica. She swallowed heavily. "And she will continue to do things like that if we don't stop her. So I suggest that you get your head on straight."

She got up and left Jack sitting alone with his even more confused thoughts.

Chad and Sidney waited for her on the other side. "Erica?" asked Chad gently.

Erica ran a hand through her hair and felt a tear slide down her cheek. "Anna brought me up to the ship to tell me that my son was dead."

Both men awkwardly stood in front of her, and Erica didn't feel like dwelling on the painful subject. She said, "I spoke to Joshua while I was up there."

When she had finished telling them what had happened, they had identical looks of shock on their faces.

"So Anna has replaced Lisa?"

"Yes," said Erica. "She has ensured the future queen will be loyal to her, and she's trying to manipulate me to eradicate the Fifth Column."

"Wow," said Sid. "That's… bad." There was silence, and the awkward atmosphere looked at the other two."I need to do some research…" he trailed off awkwardly.

"Don't worry Sid," she said. "We're leaving. Thanks for everything."

She left and Chad followed her. He was quiet for a few minutes, before eventually saying,"Erica I'm really sorry."

"I know," said Erica simply.

"Listen, I know that now might not be the right time, but…"

"What is it, Chad?" asked Erica.

Chad sighed. "Look, I-"

"Agent Evans."

Erica and Chad had returned to the "Digger" room. They saw Lars, Kendrick, and Bolling standing at the desk that Chad had recently vacated. Obviously his absence had been noticed.

"Chad took me to see Jack," said Erica.

Lars looked at Chad. "I see. And did Jack say anything to you?"

"Some things," she said. "During our time working together, we had a few… ethical disagreements. I think that's why Jack is having a hard time accepting the truth again."

"Well he better figure it out soon," said Kendrick, "or we won't know what's happening up there."

"Don't worry, he'll come around," assured Erica. "In the mean time," she said before Lars could question her about her time on the ship. "I think that Chad had an idea."

She smiled at him, and he pursed his lips. He knew what she was doing, but as to how she knew that he had an idea, he didn't know.

"Yes," said Chad with confidence he didn't really feel. He looked at Lars. "I feel that you aren't putting my talents to good use right now."

"Really?" asked Bolling condescendingly.

Chad looked at him. "_Yes_. You can use me for more than just sorting papers. People listen to me. America listens to me. You can use me to do what you people haven't been doing."

"What's that?" asked Kendrick.

"Telling people the truth."

Bolling laughed. Lars looked down at Chad. "Nobody that has been affected by Anna's bliss is going to believe anything that you say."

"Maybe not," agreed Chad, "but as you know, Fifth Column and those that oppose Anna will be feeling hopeless right now. If I go on air, those people will know that they are not alone, and we can help them."

Lars stroked his chin thoughtfully. "If you go out there, Anna will kill you."

"Yes she will," said Chad. He gestured around the room. "But it seems to me like you people have enough technology and manpower around here to get me on the air without leaving this place."

Lars smirked slightly. "Alright, Mr. Decker, you'll get your chance. If this works, then you'll gain my trust."

Chad nodded and left to prepare, casting a grateful look at Erica as he went.

Lars turned to a smiling Erica. "I figured that we would just skip the part where you refused to cooperate if we didn't give him what he wanted."

Erica nodded. "It did save time."

"Tell us what happened on the ship."

So Erica told them.

"We still need that communicator," said Lars once she had finished. "We'll figure out our next step once we do." He nodded at Erica and left without another word.

Kendrick and Bolling looked at her sympathetically.

"Erica, you don't need to be here right now," said Kendrick. "We can do this without you."

"No, Paul," she said firmly. "This is where I need to be. I need to be working to take down Anna. I won't let her destroy any more families."

They nodded. "We're here for you Erica. If you need anything let us know."

"Thanks," said Erica. "But the only thing I need right now is a world where the Vs don't exist."

* * *

Anna

Mothership

Anna stood in front of the huge glass window that overlooked New York City. She looked down upon the city with a smug smile. The world underneath her feet was completely devoted to her. They were under her control, under her influence, and nothing would be able to save them.

As Anna gloated in her mind, Thomas entered.

"My Queen," he said. "The trackers have returned. Chad Decker's trail was lost a few hundred yards from the shuttle."

Anna whipped around. "How is that possible? How could he have lost the trackers?"

"We do not know as of right now, but once we gain access to the government program, then I believe that we shall find out."

Anna turned away again. "Very well, then we must get this program as soon as possible. I want every member of Fifth Column found and destroyed."

"Yes, my Queen," said Thomas. "There is one other thing you should know. We reviewed the security footage from the shuttle. It appears as though Mr. Decker killed the V guards _after_ the Bliss was felt."

Anna opened her mouth in shock and looked at Thomas. "He was able to fight of the effects of the Bliss?" Thomas nodded. Anna clenched her jaw. "It appears as though the human Fifth Column is able to fight off the Bliss, much like Visitors were before. If Chad Decker was able to do it, then there's no telling how many others were also able to."

Anna walked forward until she was directly in front of Thomas. "We shall continue with our original plans until the Concordia sights are finished. By then, the humans—even the ones that may still have doubts—will be completely devoted to me, through Bliss and the rest of my gifts. It won't matter that a few Fifth Column are immune to Bliss."

"Yes, my Queen," said Thomas with a head inclination.

He left and Joshua entered.

"Joshua," said Anna, "were you able to access Lisa's memories?"

"We were unable to retrieve her memories," said Joshua grimly. "She has been taken back to her prison."

Anna didn't let her annoyance show. "Put Kyle Hobbes in the chamber now. Surely a weak human cannot resist for long."

"Yes, my Queen," said Joshua.

"And I think it's about time I visited my daughter."

* * *

**[A/N...again: No Hobbes or Lisa in this one. I really just wanted to get it out for you guys. But they will definitely be in the next one, so keep on reading!]**


	4. Impervious Minds

**[A/N: Next chapter! The last one was mostly Erica and Project Ares, so this one is all aboard the Mothership. Oh, and just a note: I know I repeat some things in the chapters, but that's mostly so that you don't have to go back and reread the whole thing to understand some of the details.**

**As always, reviews are loved!**

**More coming soon!]**

* * *

Kyle Hobbes

Memory Chamber

...

Hobbes surveyed the room he had been stuck in with a trained eye. One exit point, one very fancy V-tech door that was sure to have security posted on it, and one cold metal table that he was strapped to. No matter how many times he had looked around the room, nothing changed. No one had come in to question him, but no one had come in to kill him either; Hobbes figured he was in pretty good shape so far.

He had woken up in the room, strapped to the table exactly as he was now. The last thing he remembered was talking to Anna in a different room, and then being stabbed with a needle right before everything went dark. Now he was restrained on a different table and had been waiting hours for something to happen. It gave him plenty of time to go over the last few hours—or days. He wasn't sure how much time had actually passed.

He thought back to the warehouse and mentally kicked himself for his ridiculously awful plan. _Find a V and interrogate it until it gave up Sarah's location._ That had worked out _so_ well for him. Sarah was dead, and all he had done was throw himself right into the hands of the Vs, thereby placing everyone he knew in possible jeopardy. _Really excellent, Hobbes, really excellent._

Finally, after hours (or days) of waiting, the doors opened and Marcus entered, accompanied by two V guards.

Hobbes was surprised that Anna hadn't come. He glared and opened his mouth to give a snarky comment, but he found he couldn't speak. He frowned.

Marcus smiled. "Your vocal cords are paralyzed. As is the rest of your body, though I see you've regained movement of your head. Commendable, considering the amount of toxin we gave you—an extra high dose in light of your extensive military background and recent terrorist activity. You have quite the reputation, Mr. Hobbes."

Hobbes glared at Marcus and looked down at himself. He noticed for the first time that he wasn't actually restrained. He simply had no control over his body except for the ability to jerk around a little bit. He really wished he could give Marcus a piece of his mind—or at least get in a good punch before they inevitably killed him.

Marcus smiled again. "The room you are currently in is called the memory chamber. It functions to extract any and all memories from the subject—the subject being you. You will reveal to us all of your Fifth Column allies, and we will then give those names to Agent Evans, who will arrest them and turn them over to us for public execution."

Hobbes raised his eyebrows.

Marcus misinterpreted the look and nodded. "That's right Mr. Hobbes. Resistance is futile. It would be better for everyone if you let us into your mind quietly. It will be much less... painful that way."

With that, Marcus took his leave, pausing only to activate the chamber.

An incredible pressure was placed in Hobbes mind, like a hand squeezing and digging into his brain; and he vaguely wondered if he had any fighting chance at all.

* * *

Lisa

Prison

...

Lisa had never felt so exhausted in her entire life. After hours in the memory chamber, she had finally been dragged back to her cell, where she had passed out on the floor. She was glad at least that she had been taken out when she had. She didn't think she would have been able to hold out for much longer.

Before, Lisa had always viewed the memory chamber as a relatively painless thing; but now that she had things to hide, that didn't seem to be the case. She just hoped that she had convinced her mother that her mind could not be broken into, for it surely would if she had to endure another few hours in there.

Lisa moved around her prison, trying to rid herself of the stiffness in her muscles. She had a terrible headache as well, but that didn't seem to be diminishing any. It would probably take a while, considering the amount of fight she had put up in the chamber.

When she heard the sounds of the lift, her heart plummeted. Were they taking her back so soon?

She stood tall, ready to face any challenge or fight any foe. But it was only her mother with a smug smile on her face. The lack of guards convinced Lisa that she was staying right where she was.

"Hello, daughter."

"Mother," said Lisa stiffly. "You look in high spirits for someone who has failed to access her daughter's memories."

Anna's smile faltered for only a moment. "A small setback, no more," Anna informed her. "There are other ways to discover the names of the Fifth Column. We are trying one as we speak."

Lisa felt her stomach drop. "What ways?"

"Oh, you shall soon find out." The smile disappeared. "You'll find your defiance has only increased my desire to hunt down every last member of the Fifth Column and make you watch as I tear out their throats."

Lisa thought of Erica and Joshua, and of having to watch them die the same way Tyler had.

She swallowed and then bravely said, "You will fail, Mother. The Fifth Column is stronger and smarter than you think."

"We shall see," said Anna. "Your actions have caused only pain and suffering, and they will continue to do so unless you give up. Soon, you shall see firsthand what you have done, Lisa."

Anna left, leaving Lisa with a horrid feeling that something awful was going to happen very soon.

* * *

Anna

Mothership

...

Anna stood in the room that overlooked the city below it. Her visit with her daughter had caused her to think. As much as she hated to admit it, Lisa was right. Already the Fifth Column had proved themselves stronger than she thought, fighting off the Bliss and still defying her. And it wasn't just Fifth Column that was stronger than she imagined, it was humans in general. If human Fifth Column had fought off her Bliss, then there was every possibility that other humans could still learn the truth. If the humans began turning against her, then her plans would become much more difficult. She had to ensure that the humans still loved her; she couldn't take the chance that they would begin to fight.

Waving her hand, she pulled up a screen. She focused on the pictures that came up and occasionally swiped her hand across it to move to the next one.

She was in that same position when Marcus entered. "My Queen," he said. "I have just received word that the Intellecrops are ready."

"Good," said Anna. "With Concordia well on its way to being built, now is the perfect time to announce them. This new gift will cement the Bliss in the minds of the humans. They will be loyal to me without question."

"But, my Queen," insisted Marcus, "without Chad Decker to announce your plans, how will you make this new gift known?"

"Something you must learn Marcus," said Anna with another swipe at the screen, "is that everyone is replaceable."

Marcus saw what she was looking at on the screen. The faces of dozens of news reporters appeared and disappeared just as quickly.

"Has Kyle Hobbes revealed anything in the memory chamber yet?" she asked.

"No," said Marcus. "He fought it off. Just like Lisa."

Anna turned around to face him. "It seems that Fifth Column are incredibly strong willed. But their emotions are where their weakness is. Do to Mr. Hobbes what we did to the other human. Show him his family dying.

* * *

Michael Mabry

WNT News Room

...

Michael Mabry let out a deep sigh when he saw the state of his desk that morning. It seemed that overnight, it had been buried beneath a mound of papers, packages, and empty Starbucks cups. Ever since his unexpected promotion when Chad Decker went missing, Michael had been harassed and harangued to no end. It wasn't his fault that Decker decided to fall off the face of the earth, but he would have been incredibly stupid to not take up the offer to become his replacement. Michael knew that all the others in the department were just jealous that he had been picked over them.

But replacing Chad Decker was no walk in the park. He had a lot to live up to. Decker had been trusted by the majority of Americans, and he had been the mouthpiece to Anna ever since her arrival. Michael knew it would take a lot of time and hard work before he could ever compete with those accomplishments.

"Hey Michael! Congratulations, man!" yelled his boss.

"What?" he asked, confused. "What did I do?"

"You must have some hidden talents or something," his boss said, "'cause Anna just set up an interview with you. She's gonna announce something big."

Michael swelled at the words and at the applause that broke out over the floor. Maybe it wasn't going to be so hard after all.

* * *

Kyle Hobbes

Holding room

...

Hobbes paced in the room he was being held in. He hadn't been strapped to the table after he had been taken out of the memory chamber, but he suspected that was simply because Anna wanted him to know that he couldn't escape. He had gone over every inch of the room but there was no way to escape, no flaw in the design. He was like a rat in a trap.

And as stupid as one too.

It had taken every ounce of will and determination he possessed to fight of the memory chamber, but he had succeeded. It had been incredibly painful and had taken him at least an hour afterwards to even move. But that was hours ago, and now he was simply stuck with no way out. At least he hadn't broken. He would die before he gave up the others. He had been trained for interrogations—how to withstand physical and psychological tortures. And while he hadn't exactly been prepared for the techniques of alien lizards, he knew for a fact that no matter what they threw at him, he would not break. Because that was the number one rule: you die before you give up your fellow soldiers and your country.

He stopped pacing when Anna and Thomas entered with several guards and a single medical officer. He smirked at Anna.

"What? Don't trust me to not try to escape?" he mocked.

"On the contrary, Mr. Hobbes," said Anna with a smile. "I know that you won't try to escape because you have already discovered that there is no way to escape."

Hobbes jerked his head in acknowledgment. "So let me guess. Now begins the part where you torture me to get the information you want."

"Precisely," said Anna.

Hobbes looked at the guards—immolation guns hanging at their sides, just waiting for him to make a wrong move—and silently acknowledged the futility of resistance by getting back on the table. The guards promptly strapped him down.

Anna leaned over him much like she had when he first woke up. "You're much stronger than that other human we captured," she said. "So, I think you'll last much longer than he did."

She gave him one more smile. "If you'll excuse me, I have an interview to attend."

She strode out of the room and Hobbes glared at her back.

The medical officer placed two metal discs on his temples, and one of the guards said, "Sweet dreams."

They left him alone as the images assaulted his vision. He couldn't block them out, not even when he closed his eyes. They were constantly there.

So for hours, he watched his wife die by torture.


End file.
